Re: Troll Darkness Rune

From: David Cake <dave_at_Bn-aLM1kWlZT0TPFdyIJfLVWXN6tIM0lEqxAc0A_kBANVvLOeAOshwsn7KUWHdEuZIxxoQ4>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 21:11:24 +0800

On 09/05/2012, at 1:29 AM, boztakang wrote:

> 

>>> Same with trolls; giving them the Darkness rune is a bit like giving
>>> humans the Man rune - its kind of assumed anyway, and doesn't need to be
>>> specifically listed. But any troll turning up as an NPC or something in
>>> an Orlanthi game I'd say has Darkness, because that's a dramatic
>>> contrast to the PCs in that sort of game.

>> 
>> 	Yes, you don't have to give the troll a Darkness rune just for being a troll, but most are > also in Darkness based religions and wielding Darkness based magic. I think the Darkness > rune for trolls is at least as common as the Air Rune in Orlanthi society, probably more. 
> 
> I agree with Trotsky that darkness Should be an implied rune for trolls, just like the man rune is for humans. A non-darkness PC in a troll campaign would be as out of place as a non-humaniod PC amongst the Orlanthi (not technically impossible, perhaps, but vanishingly unlikely.) In most cases, I'd be much more open to a potential PC who lacked the man rune (a dehori, or intelligent insect, frex) than one without darkness in a troll-community based campaign. 

	The two aren't really cognate. A very small percentage of humans are in Man Rune cults (and those that do, often do have the Man rune explicitly - eg Pavis). A very large percentage of trolls are in Darkness cults, and have access to at least a little Darkness magic. So that situation is more like Orlanthi and Storm than it is like humans and Man, IMO. 

> This gives trolls a bit less "diversity" of runes - Darkness, Ancestor, Temper (vs Element, Power, Other) than humans, but to my mind, but that seems entirely appropriate for an elder races.

        Yes. Trolls are less diverse than humans.         

	There are a few suprises, though. Hachrat Blowhard, troll Orlanthi hero, is a famous example. 
	Cheers
		David